Grateful Alive

There is an old rock band (with a heavy emphasis on old) named The Grateful Dead. I have never really listened to their music and don’t know much about them, but apparently, they have a huge cult following and have made quite a career out of live performances. They may be very good, for all I know. However, I have never been able to get around their stupid and morbid name. Grateful Dead? What in the world does that mean? Is it someone’s attempt at being clever? Is it supposed to be counter-intuitive? Is it meant to be shocking?

Some questions, such as these, aren’t really worth pursuing very far. When it comes right down to it, the origin behind a rock band name chosen decades ago by some musicians isn’t very important. But the concept their name evokes, or rather, the opposite of that concept, is being grateful for being alive. Now this is a worthy topic!

Life is magnificently rich and complex, wonderful and varied, pleasurable and diverse. It is so indescribably impossible to describe that one can’t even begin to describe it. We all know about life because we are all alive. We know it as well as anyone could know a thing because we are it. We experience it every second of our existence with every breath we take. However, much like a fish in water, we are so close to it that we often don’t even think of it at all.

And that, I think, explains how we can get off track in our attitudes about life. We are so used to being alive that we take it for granted.

No one wants to be around someone like that. But in truth, if we are honest, all of us have had lapses in our lives when we too were not as grateful as we should have been. We have had moments when we have forgotten the many blessings we have and all the things for which we should be thankful.

Remind yourself to strive to be the kind of person who notices the gift of life, maintains the sense of wonder at all this world holds in store, and is deeply grateful for every little blessing that comes your way. As a result, you will be happier and more fulfilled, with the added bonus that you will be more enjoyable to be around as well.

While it is true that no one wants to be around an ungrateful person, the opposite is that people will clamor to be in your presence when you are appreciative and grateful, thankful and polite.